Twins Minor League Report (7/7): Marek Houston and the Wind Surge Topple the Naturals

[Steve Lein]

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Marek Houston)

TRANSACTIONS

• The Minnesota Twins selected the contract of the recently acquired RHP Woo-Suk Go as well as recalled OF Alan Roden from the St. Paul Saints. RHP Cole Sands was also sent on a rehab assignment with St. Paul.
• Also, in Triple-A RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto was sent back to Wichita as LHP Aaron Rozek was activated from the temporarily inactive list. RHP Julian Merryweather was sent on a rehab assignment with Fort Myers.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 7, Iowa 4
Box Score
As the Saints have been known to do this season, they jumped on Cubs pitching early to build a big lead, then let John Klein and the pitching staff do the rest.

In the top of the second walks to Aaron Sabato and Orlando Arcia along with a single from Kala’i Rosario loaded the bases with one out. Cody Morissette delivered a sac fly for the game's first run, before Ben Ross launched a two-run double off the tall wall in center field 3-0 lead. 

In the third the rehabbing Ryan Jeffers led off the inning by launching his second home run during his cameo with the Saints to make it 4-0.

They added three more runs in the inning as Sabato (walk), Arcia (single), and Gabriel Gonzalez (RBI single) followed by reaching base. Rosario added an RBI single and later scored on a double steal that included a throwing error for a 7-0 lead.

The bats went quiet from there, but there was no worry as starting pitcher John Klein was locked in. After a leadoff double to start the game, he retired the next eight hitters, and didn’t have much trouble until the fourth. A leadoff double and an error led to his only real blemish on the pitching line, an unearned run. In all he completed five innings to earn his second win of the season. He scattered four hits, walked one, and struck out four, throwing 49 of his 70 pitches for strikes (70%).

Cole Sands came on for the sixth to start his rehab assignment, retiring the Cubs in order on 12 pitches. C.J. Culpepper (1 1/3 IP, ER, BB, 2 K), Grant Hartwig (1/3 IP, 2 H, BB), and Taylor Rashi (1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, K) held off the Cubs the rest of the way.

Walker Jenkins (2-for-5) and Rosario (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, SB) had multiple hits. Matt Wallner added a double. Sabato (0-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K), Arcia (1-for-4, 2 R, BB), and Rosario all scored two runs.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
NW Arkansas 1, Wichita 12
Box Score
The NW Arkansas Naturals came to Wichita and ran into a Wind Surge that would have blown down some of their trees back in The Natural State. 

Wichita jumped out to a 9-1 lead after three innings and led to a position player taking the mound late.

The first gust came from Marek Houston on the first pitch of the game from the Naturals. He took an inside pitch out to the berm in left field for his first home run with the Wind Surge, and sixth of the season. He wasn’t done, either.

In the bottom of the second, Garrett Spain led off with his 14th double and Kyle DeBarge followed with a single and subsequently stole second base. Caden Kendle delivered a sac fly for his first RBI in Double-A, and Quinn McDaniel later followed with a double to drive in their second run of the inning. That brought up Houston, whose RBI single made it 4-1 Wichita.

The bottom of the third is where the straight-line winds peaked. Khadim Diaw and Billy Amick hit back-to-back singles to lead it off. Two strikeouts later, Kendle launched his first home run with Wichita, scoring all three of them. Singles from Caleb Roberts and McDaniel led into Houston, who lined one down the left field line, got a fortunate bounce off the wall, and stretched it all the way into a triple with hustle, making it 9-1.

Preston Johnson got the start for Wichita and kept the Naturals floundering over his four innings. He allowed just one earned run on three hits, while striking out four and landing 44 of his 62 pitches for strikes (71%).

Darren Bowen was the first reliever summoned and went the next two innings to be credited with the win. He allowed one hit, walked one, and struck out one to improve to 4-0 on the season.

The trio of Nick Mikolajchak (1 IP, BB), Jacob Webb (1 IP, H, 2 K), and Kyle Bischoff (1 IP, K) all added a scoreless inning to run this one out.

The Wind Surge added another three runs in the bottom of the sixth to turn this one into a mercy-rule affair. Brandon Winokur led off with a triple for his first hit in Double-A, and scored on a sac fly from Diaw. Amick (single), Spain (double), and DeBarge (2-run single) finished it off.

Despite finishing a double shy of the cycle (3-for-5, R, 3B, HR, 4 RBI) Houston didn’t even lead the team in hits. That was Amick, who finished 5-for-5 with two runs scored. Spain (2-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B, 3 K), DeBarge (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, K, SB), Kendle (2-for-3, R, HR, 4 RBI, BB), and McDaniel (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB, K) all had two hits apiece as well, with the Wind Surge tallying 18 total in the game.

KERNELS NUGGETS
South Bend 7, Cedar Rapids 5 (10 innings)
Box Score
The Kernels struck first in the bottom of the third inning after Henry Kusiak delivered a two-out double. Yasser Mercedes followed with an RBI single for a 1-0 lead.

It stayed that way until the top of the fifth as starting pitcher Xavier Kolhosser kept the Cubs in check for the first three innings. He gave up just two hits and struck out one, throwing 44 pitches (29 for strikes). Nick Trabacchi came on to start the fourth and though he walked a pair of hitters, delivered a scoreless frame. In the fifth, that luck ran out as three singles and a double turned into a 3-1 Cubs lead. Trabacchi was charged with three earned runs on four hits and two walks in his 1 2/3 innings. Christian Becerra got the final out of the fifth and added a scoreless sixth, despite walking the bases loaded.

In the bottom of the fifth, Cedar Rapids answered the South Bend rally with four runs of their own to take back the lead. Dameury Pena and Jose Salas got it started with a pair of walks. Rayne Doncon and Kusiak added RBI singles to tie it, then Jacob McCombs tacked on two more with a single of his own to make it 5-3 after five.

In the top of the seventh Nolan Santos came on from the bullpen and the Cubs pounced. A single, double, and single before he recorded an out shrunk their lead to one, before a sac fly tied it up at five. To his credit he kept it that way into the ninth inning, finishing 2 2/3 innings in his outing. He gave up two earned runs on three hits and two walks, striking out one. 

With the go-ahead run on second base with two outs in the ninth, the Kernels went to Mitch Mueller, who recorded the final out and gave the Kernels lineup a chance.

Graham Brown did his job by getting on base with a single to leadoff. Doncon did his with a sacrifice bunt that put him in scoring position, bringing up Kusiak. His single was hit a bit too hard into center field so Brown had to be held at third, before the next two batters went down to send it to extras.

With the Manfred man on second base, a steal attempt went south for the Kernels as an error led to the runner scoring to give the Cubs the lead. They added a solo home run later in the frame to give themselves a two-run cushion. Mueller finished 1 1/3 innings, and was charged with two runs (none earned) to take the loss as Cedar Rapids went down in order to end the game.

Kusiak led the way for the offense, reaching base each time he came up. He finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored, a double, RBI, and a walk. McCombs finished 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI and added his 10th double of the season.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Bradenton 4, Fort Myers 3
Box Score
Ramiro Villanueva made the start for the Mighty Mussels but was only able to complete one-plus inning as his pitch count got run up to 36 (with 20 going for strikes) early. He was charged with two earned runs on four hits and two walks, with one of those runs coming in each of the first and second innings. He was relieved by Nick McAuliffe who only was able to go one inning himself, as the game was delayed in the top of the third. McAuliffe allowed one hit and struck out one. The rehabbing Julian Merryweather came on when play resumed and added a scoreless inning, though dealt with some traffic on the bases. He allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out two.

Fort Myers got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth as walks to JP Smith and Byron Chourio, and a single from Irvin Nunez loaded the bases with one out. All they were able to get however, was a sac fly from Ricardo Paez that made it 2-1 Marauders.

Merit Jones came out of the bullpen for the top of the fourth and completed the next three innings. He scattered four hits and two walks to the tune of just one earned run thanks to four strikeouts. Eric Hammond finished the final three innings for the pitching staff, allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks. He struck out three.

The Mighty Mussels put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t quite enough to complete a comeback. Miguel Briceno delivered a two-out double to get it started. Ramiro Dominguez followed with an RBI single to make it 4-2. A single from Jayson Bass got them within one before Bradenton recorded the final out of the inning.

Paez led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and moved into scoring position on a walk to Merphy Hernandez, who represented the winning run. But a flyout and two strikeouts followed to send the Hammond Stadium faithful home disappointed.

Dominguez (2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, K) and Bass (2-for-5, 2B, RBI, K) each had two hits in the loss.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Rays 3, FCL Twins 2 (7 innings)
Box Score
Twins starting pitcher Cristian Hernandez nearly escaped a bases loaded jam to begin this one, getting two outs after loading the bases, but a walk and two-run single put the Rays up 3-0 after the top of the first. He settled in from there, putting up zeroes over his next three innings being effectively wild. In four total he was charged with those three earned runs on three hits and five walks, while striking out five. Right-handed reliever Carter Holjes finished off the final three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk, and striking out three.

After falling behind, the Twins offense responded in the bottom of the third. Daiber De Los Santos led off with a single, stole second base, and later scored on an RBI single from Jhomnardo Reyes. In the bottom of the fifth they added another run on a passed ball after De Los Santos and Yovanny Duran hit back-to-back singles to start it. But that was as close as they could get. Duran and De Los Santos each finished 2-for-3. Yilber Herrera added a double.

DOMINICAN DAILY
Game 1: DSL Twins 10, DSL Phillies 13 (7 innings)
Box Score
The two teams combined to use 11 pitchers in this one, which was the completion of a game that was suspended back on June 25th. The Phillies jumped out to a 7-0 lead against Twins pitchers Yolcar Garcia (1 2/3 IP, 5 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) and Juan Germosen (1/3 IP, BB). In DSL rule quirks anybody who is a fan of Minnesota’s Town Ball Leagues will recognize, Germosen came into the game for the final out of the first inning, and Garcia reentered the game as the pitcher for the start of the second. When they resumed play this morning Yosangel Braffit (2 1/3 IP, 4 H, 6 R (4 ER) 3 BB), Nolwer Barboza (2/3 IP), and Aldwin Morillo (1 IP, H, BB, K) finished off the rest of the game.

The Twins lineup scored their first two runs in the top of the fourth inning thanks to Abel Sosa's RBI single. A throwing error on a pickoff attempt scored the other. In the fifth Enmanuel Merlo launched a three-run homer. In the sixth three balks helped contribute to a four-run frame but Sosa also delivered another RBI single. Fabian Ulloa added an RBI single in the seventh.

Game 2: DSL Phillies 12, DSL Twins 6 (6 innings)
Box Score
While the two teams were able to get in both of their games while dealing with the weather, this one was also cut short due to it. The Phillies again bludgeoned Twins pitching, with starter Jeremy Jimenez (2 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R (2 ER), BB, 2 K) and relievers Sebastian Echavarria (2 1/3 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, K) and Herkyn Taveras (1/3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB) all suffering from some bruises.

The hitters again fared better, with Daiyer Barboza (2-for-3, R, 2B, K, 2 SB) and Juan Holmann (2-for-2, 2 R, HR, RBI) collecting a pair of hits, and the team recording nine total. Jefferson Abreu added a home run to the effort, driving in two.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – John Klein, St. Paul Saints (W, 5 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 4 K)
Hitter of the Day – Marek Houston, Wichita Wind Surge (3-for-5, R, 3B, HR, 4 RBI)

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today.

#1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 2-for-5, K
#4 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
#5 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita): 3-for-5, R, 3B, HR (1), 4 RBI
#10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 1-for-5, RBI, K
#12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita): 1-for-5, R, 3B, K
#13 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Wichita): 1-for-4, R, RBI
#14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Fort Myers): 0-for-4, 2 K
#17 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (St. Paul): 1 1/3 IP, ER, BB, 2 K
#18 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K
#19 - 1B/3B Billy Amick (Wichita): 4-for-5, 2 R
#20 - 2B/OF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita): 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, K, SB (20)

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Iowa (12:08 PM CDT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (4-1, 2.97 ERA)
NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Chris Vallimont (0-1, 5.40 ERA)
South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Riley Quick (0-2, 4.34 ERA)
Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Jason Reitz (0-1, 2.86 ERA)

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

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[wesnewy]

AA Houston breakout incoming 🚨🚨 I’m hoping to see this guy in St. Paul by the end of the year

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

If Houston starts punishing AA pitching - a pick most were extremely meh about becomes potentially extremely valuable.  His speed and power is much better than anticipated.   He is sitting at 32 steals on the season and is a perfect 8 for 8 in 12 games for Wichita.  Now its 1 game and he had struggle a bit prior to that game - but great game Marek.  

Amick did go 4-5 last night.  He needs a few more of those as well.  He is really leaned back into his power roots this year, rather than the contact approach he seemed to utilize last year.   

[jmlease1]

Glad to see Houston get some xbhs; I wasn't terribly worried about it after so few games, but part of what made his time this year in Cedar Rapids notable was he wasn't just slapping singles. He showed enough gap power and the ability to occasionally drop one in the seats to go along with good contact skills and an understanding of the strike zone. Hopefully he continues on as he settles in at AA. He's raising his ceiling nicely this year.

DeBarge is having a good week; now let's see if he can turn it into a good month. He hasn't had a particularly good season, but a strong second half will make a difference. Amick is not going to be popular around here with that BA, and he's definitely taking a "3 true outcomes" approach at the plate right now...but it is working for him which matters after a rotten AFL stint and some injury issues in A-ball. We'll see if he can make enough contact consistently to keep going.

Congrats to Alan Roden on his return to MLB!

[Jeff K]

43 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Glad to see Houston get some xbhs; I wasn't terribly worried about it after so few games, but part of what made his time this year in Cedar Rapids notable was he wasn't just slapping singles. He showed enough gap power and the ability to occasionally drop one in the seats to go along with good contact skills and an understanding of the strike zone. Hopefully he continues on as he settles in at AA. He's raising his ceiling nicely this year.

DeBarge is having a good week; now let's see if he can turn it into a good month. He hasn't had a particularly good season, but a strong second half will make a difference. Amick is not going to be popular around here with that BA, and he's definitely taking a "3 true outcomes" approach at the plate right now...but it is working for him which matters after a rotten AFL stint and some injury issues in A-ball. We'll see if he can make enough contact consistently to keep going.

Congrats to Alan Roden on his return to MLB!

And to Brandon Winokur for his first game triple at AA.

[rdehring]

Jeffers is doing fantastic in his rehab stint.  Sounds like it will be a few more games as they want him to catch a few 7-9 inning games.  A clean inning from Sands is encouraging.  Can he be back in a week or so?

Question about Rosario.  Although it's been only 4 games, he sure wants to get noticed.  Add me to those who are ecstatic with what Houston is doing at AA.

[Steve Lein]

57 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Jeffers is doing fantastic in his rehab stint.  Sounds like it will be a few more games as they want him to catch a few 7-9 inning games.  A clean inning from Sands is encouraging.  Can he be back in a week or so?

Question about Rosario.  Although it's been only 4 games, he sure wants to get noticed.  Add me to those who are ecstatic with what Houston is doing at AA.

Rosario has been...interesting...so far in triple-A.

He has 6 hits (all singles) in 15 plate appearances...with 8 strikeouts. SSS caveat of course, but that's a .857 BABIP so far, haha! (one of the hits in this one was a swinging bunt, so he's got a rabbit's foot or something!)

[arby58]

There’s no way Quentin Young is the Twins 14th best prospect. Another 2 Ks last night - he’s now struck out in 45% of his plate appearances, is hitting .207 with a .657 OPS. Plus he is butchering the left side of the infield defensively, with 20 errors in 194 chances. By contrast, Culpepper has 4 errors in 209 chances. 

[Mike Sixel]

9 minutes ago, arby58 said:

There’s no way Quentin Young is the Twins 14th best prospect. Another 2 Ks last night - he’s now struck out in 45% of his plate appearances, is hitting .207 with a .657 OPS. Plus he is butchering the left side of the infield defensively, with 20 errors in 194 chances. By contrast, Culpepper has 4 errors in 209 chances. 

Fangraphs is not a fan at all. I have no idea why he's playing short. Zero chance he's stays there. 

[bean5302]

Just now, Mike Sixel said:

Fangraphs is not a fan at all. I have no idea why he's playing short. Zero chance he's stays there. 

re: Young

Fangraphs had him at #19 coming into the season, but yeah, fell completely off the top 40 at mid-year. He's got some massive adjustments to make as a high school pick who already has the deck stacked against him at SS.

Shortstops need quickness above all else, and getting a long lever like Winokur or Young moving is very difficult. High school shortstop fielding methodology is also dramatically different from MLB shortstop fielding methodology. The whole one knee down let the ball come to you fundamentals isn't a thing in the pro levels.

His eye at the plate recognizing balls and strikes seems okay as he's chasing only 28.6% of the time, but he's just awful at making contact. Having such a huge strike zone, and his overall swing mechanics seems to be a big issue.

Since the Twins don't recognize the value in defense, they'll probably continue to try to make him into something he's not.

[rdehring]

2 hours ago, Steve Lein said:

Rosario has been...interesting...so far in triple-A.

He has 6 hits (all singles) in 15 plate appearances...with 8 strikeouts. SSS caveat of course, but that's a .857 BABIP so far, haha! (one of the hits in this one was a swinging bunt, so he's got a rabbit's foot or something!)

I wanted to give you the smiley face, but I fear it will be misunderstood as saying 'ha ha'.  My use of it means your comment brought a good smile to my face.  It would be great is TD has two whatever they are called, one for those who want to be sarcastic, and another for those who felt good about the comment.

[DataNerd]

3 hours ago, arby58 said:

There’s no way Quentin Young is the Twins 14th best prospect. Another 2 Ks last night - he’s now struck out in 45% of his plate appearances, is hitting .207 with a .657 OPS. Plus he is butchering the left side of the infield defensively, with 20 errors in 194 chances. By contrast, Culpepper has 4 errors in 209 chances. 

Another huge issue is that he isn't making progress.  He had a 49K% in Apr, a 37% in May, then a 48% in June.  Just is not able to hit good pitching.